As fall has arrived and as acorns are falling to the ground, I have  often thought about the life of the little acorn. I’ve wrestled with the vastness of the presence they become. Isn’t it fascinating that something so small becomes something so large? Something seemingly insignificant becomes a defining force in our little neighborhood….

Scripture alludes to the illustration of the tree as early as the beginning. It was a tree that yielded the forbidden fruit; and it was the wood from the tree that yielded the cross. The tree held the Sin-bearer, the Pierced One Who has brought redemption to the lives of the broken, the needy. And, it’s the tree where the comparisons lie. To bear fruit. To be recognized for the fruit. To be planted by the streams of Living Water.

This fall as the busyness has increased so has my proclivity to hide behind the facade of performance and not carving out that sacred time to really be with Jesus.

To really open my heart and engage my emotions all throughout the day

To stop and pray for the hurting all around, especially the Syrian refugees who long simply for a home and a place, and countless friends immersed in difficult stories 

To yield more than an occasional arrow prayer or a devotional but a focused time immersed in scripture and just being with Jesus

My codependency has reared its ugly head and pleasing everyone tends to capture my heart  moreoften  than Jesus. Oh, today, may we all slow down and sift through the simplicity of the acorn  in light of what He desires for us to become. Whether we acknowledge changes or not, transformation is here. Are we becoming more like Jesus or like the world? What captures our hearts this day?

The season officially shifted a few weeks ago as the cooler air arrived; and the gourds as well as the pumpkins seem to shout with oranges, yellows and other hues that fall is inevitably here. It seems with the shifting of seasons and the recognitions of change that now is a good time to take inventory.  Wonder if we all embraced this notion of our smallness in light of what He wants us to become? Wonder if we truly believed that the gospel commands were for us in real life, real time, in real space this day as the fall season has arrived? As surely as the season will inevitably usher in change, it’s ever so certain  that our lives will too. It’s just part of life; and our response to that change….

This season I want to live differently.  I am learning to practice gratitude while fully investing in the moment and letting go of the things that I cannot control. It sounds so simple; and yet, it is not so easy to practice. Gratefulness opens our eyes to the myriads of blessings and the love of the Father. Somehow the anger and sadness we feel about our losses or our broken stories lessen as we list our gifts. Delighting in having enough food on my table or clothes to wear. Delighting in a roof over my head with healthy children and a husband within this frame. Delighting in the provisions of school and work. These are a few grateful places from my family of five this day:

My oldest has had an encouraging fall at the Ole Miss with classes and RUF, along with participating in fraternity life & serving as a houseboy at a sorority house. My middle is hunkering down with varsity basketball and college applications while also leading music for youth group and Young Life. I am so proud that he just completed raising almost $5,000 and assembled 25o Christmas packages for Haitian children! I eagerly look forward to his delivering the gifts and seeing firsthand the smiles on the faces of these orphans. And there’s Clay Clay. There’s never been a funnier kid who has such a magnetic personality. His attention has been turned to swimming for MUS and to establishing himself as a freshman. I do love my boys, my tall blessings. I cherish and admire the men they are becoming; their oak tree stories are still being written. Gratitude abounds that they see their smallness in light of God’s “bigness;” and they use the filter of the gospel lens. Imperfectly. Willingly. Expectantly.

And my man  continues to juggle all of “what’s on his plate” …..

I have finally completed a graduate class in counseling; and truly, I loved it as I’ve always felt called to serve the broken as a counselor. It’s a start but certainly a very late one! Embracing technology and writing papers have kept this lady busy! My heart’s true desire is to encourage: I know what it is like to hurt deeply and to struggle deeply in this place of basing my worth on performance.  We humans need each other; and we cannot journey alone. Deeply flawed and sinful is my heart; yet, God meets me in this place so that His light can shine through my imperfections.

What is capturing your heart this day as the fall season has arrived with its vivid display of colors?  Let’s push back the busyness and focus on the eternal. Run to Jesus. He stands with arms outstretched to welcome the imperfect, the needy, the wobbly, the broken. As certain as the acorn changes and as certain as the fall leaves display the majesty of our God, His certainty stands. He longs to meet you wherever you are: He longs for you to show up and simply be in His Presence.  HE longs to capture you with His love.